Fund Groups

GradStarter Award

Proposal timeline for the¬†2018 academic year:

Proposals are due on November 15, 2017¬†for Spring 2018¬†funding and June 15, 2018 for¬† for Fall 2018¬†funding

Awards are announced twice a year, January 2018 and August 2018.

Fund information:

GradStarter is a dynamic platform designed to help graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and Rice faculty and staff develop and launch innovative ideas that enhance the graduate student and postdoctoral intellectual community at Rice.

Rice community members are invited to submit proposals for projects that promote graduate and postdoctoral scholarship, training, and development. Each proposal will be featured on our website with an image, caption, and a link to the full proposal. The Rice community will be invited to view the proposals, provide feedback, and indicate which proposals they are interested in and want to see developed.

The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) has secured $20,000 to use to support GradStarter projects. GradStarter funds are intended to support innovative projects that promote academic achievement and challenges Rice graduate students and postdocs to learn and grow as scholars. Project proposals should focus on a new initiative and include a comprehensive plan that fosters intellectual community among graduate students and postdocs within their department, across subfields, or throughout the university.

Eligibility:

Individual graduate students or postdocs, graduate student organizations, faculty, and staff at Rice are eligible to apply. Proposals may be also be submitted by graduate programs, academic departments, resource centers, and research institutes at Rice as well as Rice alumni.

Review process:

The review of proposals will be carried out by a committee of referees assembled by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, with input from the Graduate Student Association. This committee will be comprised of the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, staff from Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and Graduate Student Association representatives.

Selection criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

The contribution the project makes to improving graduate and postdoctoral scholarship, promoting intellectual community, and enhancing the stature of Rice graduate students and postdocs;

The quality, significance, creativity and potential impact of the project;

The likelihood that the project could be sustained after the pilot year or could be expanded or replicated in other graduate programs.

How to apply:

Proposals should be submitted using the online submission form by November 15, 2017 for Spring 2018¬†funding and June 15,¬†2018 for Fall 2018 funding and must include a detailed proposal using the provided template. The proposal should include the following:

A project description that includes a tentative schedule, information about the target audience, and a marketing plan.

A summary describing the goals of the project and how it will advance Rice graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

An itemized budget that indicates how the funds will be spent and list other potential or existing funding resources.¬†